Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, is one of five women testifying against Harvey Weinstein in his latest sexual assault trial. The trial, which started this week and is taking place in Los Angeles, will continue over the course of the next two months.
Siebel Newsom, who was confirmed as ‘Jane Doe #4’ by BuzzFeed News,’ is accusing the 70-year-old film producer of forcible oral copulation and forcible rape over a one-year period between 2004 and 2005. She first opened up about the incidents in a 2017 HuffPost op-ed.
“I can tell you that I believe every single word that was written in the extremely disturbing, but not all that shocking, New York Times piece published yesterday. Not all that shocking because very similar things happened to me,” she wrote in response to the groundbreaking NYT article.
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“I was naive, new to the industry, and didn’t know how to deal with his aggressive advances,” continued Siebel Newsom.
One of those advances occurred during a meeting with Weinstein and other staff, which was supposedly about a ‘role in The Peninsula Hotel.’ The staff suddenly left the meeting, “leaving me alone with this extremely powerful and intimidating Hollywood legend,” she explained.
The jury selection process for the LA trial began earlier this week and opening statements are currently scheduled for October 24th, 2022. Siebel Newsom’s attorney, Elizabeth Fegan, spoke about her client’s decision to testify against Weinstein.
“She intends to testify at his trial to seek some measure of justice for survivors and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women. Please respect her choice to not discuss this matter outside of the courtroom,” said Fegan in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
Wasn’t Harvey Weinstein Already Found Guilty of Rape and Sexual Assault?
In 2020, Harvey Weinstein was arrested, charged, and found guilty of rape and sexual assualt. After a highly-publicized trial in New York, Weinstein was sentenced to a 23-year sentence, which he is currently serving. Now more than two years later, he’s facing his second charge.
The five women testifying against him, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are accusing him of ‘rape, sexual assault, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint, and sexual penetration by use of force,’ according to Buzzfeed. The incidents occurred between 2004 and 2013.
“As Mr. Weinstein sits before you, he is innocent,” Judge Lisa B. Lench explained to potential jurors. She rightfully acknowledged the amount of media attention on this trial, adding that there must be valid proof and evidence against Weinstein for his innocence to change.
Harvey Weinstein has denied any and all allegations against him, maintaining his innocence and pleading not guilty. In fact, he’s currently in the process of appealing the 2020 conviction – citing biased judges and jurors, further doubling down on his supposed innocence.
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While he still has more than 20 years left on his original sentence, Harvey Weinstein could be facing up to 140 years in prison – in other words, the rest of his life. He’s currently facing 11 counts of various charges, most of which are the same or similar to his original conviction.
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